Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-16
LONDON'S WATER SUPPLY.
n Daily Allowance Of Twenty
Eight Gallons Per Head.

"Plenty of water? No; l can't say
we've got plenty. We're all right in
the daytime, but they turns 1t OIL In
the evening after or 7 O'Clock, and 1t
don't come on again till 8 in the morn
ing. However, it don't much matter.
If we're hard up for drop to make
breakfast with there's that drinking
fountain there, and if we wants drop
to wash in, why there's
horse trough across the road
we can dip out OF. But then,
you see, chimes in a bystender, I'VE
all of us got horse-troughs and drink
ing fountains to go to. If the gentle-s
man wants to know about being short
o. water he should come down our
way. l had to come off this morning
without washing my face" What
time? "Why I was to leave just be-
fore 6, and if you don't think to save
your Water over night you amt
], got drop. When you goes to
turn your tap the blessed
thing goes pho-o-o; makes fellow
swear-at least it do me-" Don't take
much to do that? "Well, p'raps not,
but it's haggrawatip'." Cant make
it out" said another customer OF the
East London Water Company, 81
thought there was a hact of Party
ment to make 'em give constant sup
ply. They don't call that constant
supply when they cuts it off for
twelve or fourteen hours out o. twenty
tour" "Ah, l reckon ye're wrong
there, boss" observed a listener !;
s'it's the water rate as is the constant
supply; it amt the water"
Experience, says the Standard, diff
ers somewhat in various parts OF the
first district supplied by the East Lon
don water works, which comprises al
together some $4,000 houses and in
which both the intermittent and con-
slant supply system are in force,
There are parts of the district, such as
West Ham, in which daily supply is
poured into cisterns. but throughout a
large portion of the East London COM
pany's domain constant supply has
been established and has been in force
up till Just recently. With
the providing OF cisterns the
company has of course nothing to do.
That is landlords matter. 1t is the
company's business to fill the cisterns
when they are provided, and the
water is turned on sufficiently long to
fill the largest of them. Small els
tiers, however, cost less than large
ones, and with the setting in of hot,
dry weather, there has been the usual
outcry about a short supply OF water;
Cisterns which do pretty well
in January are insufficient in
July, and with the scorching
we have had, West Ham has been
loudly complaining. To the outcry
from that quarter, the company reply
in effect that they volunteer to the
new corporation constant supply OF
water if they would comply with the
requirements of the acts OF 1871,
which prescribed certain fittings
for adoption within the metropolitan
area before the companies could
be required to give a constant supply
This the corporation refused to DO,
and they are still left, therefore, with
the system OF supply by cistern. If,
however, those who do not find their
supply sufficient will provide larger
cisterns, the company are prepared to
fill them daily.
But added to this outcry by the els
tern proprietors, there has recently
been another very general one
throughout that part OF the company's
district supplied on what has hitherto
been the constant system. People are
everywhere complaining that at "a
time when they have exceptional need
of copious supply of water the com
pany has taken to cutting 1t OFT
all night. When they have els
terms or other conveniences for
storage it does not matter, but
great numbers of people have no such
convenience. Some OF them say the
water is turned off at 6 or Tin the eve
ming and is not turned on again till 8
or 10 in the morning. If they have
illness in the night or closets require
flushing they have not drop OF water.
1t is OF no use getting up early to do
house-cleaning or washing they must
wait till the water comes on, and If
they have left home without making
provision for next mornings breakfast
they must hasten back before the
the water is turned off.